Gambia: U.S.$10 Million Water Projects Launched

The government of The Gambia in collaboration with African Development Bank and Africa Water Facility (AWF) Wednesday launched two sister projects of the National Water Sector Reform (NWSR) and Rural Water Supply Sanitation (RWSS) projects respectively, valued at US$10 million, at the Coca Ocean Resort and Spar in Bijilo.

The launching of the projects was presided over by the vice president and minister of Women's Affairs, Her Excellency Aja Dr. Isatou-Saidy. She told the gathering that projects are aimed at improving the living conditions particularly health of the rural poor most of whom are women and school going children. She disclosed that the rural water and sanitation project would provide access to water supply and sanitation for 60,000 and 50,000 people in 22 rural communities.

The VP underscored the importance of water, saying it is indispensable for any meaningful socio-economic development, stressing that without reliable and sustainable supply of clean water, human survival would have been a challenge. She further pointed out that without water, both agriculture and industry would all have been crippled as well as other sectors of the economy. She noted that this is why the government relevantly considered it as a basic human right.